BBC News | UK | March marks anti-racism protester's anniversary Saturday, April 24, 1999 Published at 19:22 GMT 20:22 UK UK March marks anti-racism protester's anniversary An internal police investigation report was never released Hundreds of campaigners have marched past the place where anti-racism demonstrator Blair Peach died to mark the 20th anniversary of his death on Saturday. The Blair Peach 20th Anniversary Committee also renewed their calls for an official investigation into how the 33-year-old schoolteacher died, as police tried to disperse a crowd of thousands of protestors demonstrating against a National Front rally in London. The 1979 demonstration was sparked by the right-wing organisation's decision to hold a St George's Day election meeting in Southall town hall, the traditional heart of London's Indian community. Inquiry demand rejected Witnesses claim that Mr Peach was hit over the head with a baton by members of the Metropolitan Police Special Patrol Group at the incident in Southall on 23 April, 1979.

No officers were ever charged with the attack, although the force reached an out-of-court settlement with Mr Peach's brother in 1989. Jack Straw called for a public inquiry into the incident at the time The present Home Secretary Jack Straw was among 79 MPs who called for a public inquiry into the incident at the time - a demand which was rejected by the then government. Home Office Minister Paul Boateng recently ruled out a new investigation into the incident, saying it had happened too long ago for such a move to be worthwhile. New Zealander Mr Peach was a prominent anti-racist campaigner who had led a successful campaign to close down a National Front building in the middle of the Bangladeshi community around east London's Brick Lane. The special needs teacher, who worked in the east London borough of Tower Hamlets, had attended the protest against the election meeting with other teachers. Police report The protesters who converged on the meeting were met by rows of police officers who had sealed off much of the area. An inquest into Mr Peach's death recorded a verdict of "death by misadventure", although 11 witnesses reported seeing Mr Peach struck by police. An internal Metropolitan Police investigation report by Commander John Cass was never released.

Mr Peach's partner Celia Stubbs, who attended the protest at which Mr Peach died, has appealed to Jack Straw to make the report public. Ms Stubbs, a social worker, also wants Mr Straw to meet community leaders in Southall to discuss continuing racial tension in the area. In January this year, she launched the Blair Peach 20th Anniversary Committee to fight for more anti-racist education in schools. BBC News | UK | March for anti-racism protestor's anniversary Saturday, April 24, 1999 Published at 07:46 GMT 08:46 UK UK March for anti-racism protestor's anniversary An internal police investigation report was never released Campaigners will march past the place where anti-racism demonstrator Blair Peach died to mark the 20th anniversary of his death on Saturday. The Blair Peach 20th Anniversary Committee will also renew their calls for an official investigation into how the 33-year-old schoolteacher died, as police tried to disperse a crowd of thousands of protestors demonstrating against a National Front rally in London.

The demonstration was sparked by the right-wing organisation's decision to hold a St George's Day election meeting in Southall town hall, the traditional heart of London's Indian community. Inquiry demand rejected Witnesses claim that Mr Peach was hit over the head with a baton by members of the Metropolitan Police Special Patrol Group at the incident in Southall on 23 April, 1979. No officers were ever charged with the attack, although the force reached an out-of-court settlement with Mr Peach's brother in 1989. Jack Straw called for a public inquiry into the incident at the time The present Home Secretary Jack Straw was among 79 MPs who called for a public inquiry into the incident at the time - a demand which was rejected by the then government. Home Office Minister Paul Boateng recently ruled out a new investigation into the incident, saying it had happened too long ago for such a move to be worthwhile. New Zealander Mr Peach was a prominent anti-racist campaigner who had led a successful campaign to close down a National Front building in the middle of the Bangladeshi community around east London's Brick Lane.

The special needs teacher, who worked in the east London borough of Tower Hamlets, had attended the protest against the election meeting with other teachers. Police report The protesters who converged on the meeting were met by rows of police officers who had sealed off much of the area. An inquest into Mr Peach's death recorded a verdict of "death by misadventure", although 11 witnesses reported seeing Mr Peach struck by police. An internal Metropolitan Police investigation report by Commander John Cass was never released. Mr Peach's partner Celia Stubbs, who attended the protest at which Mr Peach died, has appealed to Jack Straw to make the report public. Ms Stubbs, a social worker, also wants Mr Straw to meet community leaders in Southall to discuss continuing racial tension in the area. In January this year, she launched the Blair Peach 20th Anniversary Committee to fight for more anti-racist education in schools. Death of anti-racism protester Blair Peach to be reviewed - Telegraph Law and Order Death of anti-racism protester Blair Peach to be reviewed The Crown Prosecution Service has been asked by detectives to review the death of anti-racism activist Blair Peach 30 years ago, Scotland Yard has said.

Image 1 of 2 Thousands of teachers from Southall attend the funeral of Blair Peach, the New Zealander who was murdered by police in the anti-National Front riots in Southall Photo: GETTY IMAGES 4:08PM GMT 14 Dec 2009 The move came as police prepare to publish an internal inquiry that examined if there is evidence that Mr Peach was killed by police. Mr Peach, 33, from New Zealand, died after suffering a blow to the head at a demonstration against the National Front in Southall, west London, in 1979. A report written by Commander John Cass, a former senior officer at the Met's internal complaints department, examined the inquiry into his death. He is believed to have recommended the prosecution of police officers, although no charges were ever brought. The report has remained secret, but members of his family backed a campaign this year to force it into the open. Related Articles Who killed Blair Peach? 24 Apr 2010 In June, Commissioner Sir Paul Stephenson said the report should be published, possibly by the end of the year, with some details censored. A Metropolitan Police spokesman said the report has now been formally handed to the CPS.

He said: "At the request of the Met the CPS has agreed to review the Blair Peach Report and provide advice as to whether any further investigation into any aspect of the matter would be justified. "This independent oversight should provide clarity to the family of Blair Peach and the public that the Met has exhausted all investigative options in relation to this historic case. "Earlier this year the Commissioner publicly stated his desire to publish the report unless there were overwhelming reasons not to do so and this view has not changed." It is understood police solicitors recommended that the report should be given to prosecutors for a final appraisal. The long-awaited publication of the report was pencilled in for late December, but the latest development is likely to delay it further. Sources close to the process said murder or manslaughter charges were unlikely, but individuals could face charges for perverting the course of justice. Speaking in June, Sir Paul said there would have to be "overwhelming" reasons not to release the internal inquiry. He told a meeting of the Metropolitan Police Authority (MPA) that a review of the documents would take place to consider whether any censorship was required. Members of the MPA unanimously supported a decision to review the documents with a view to publishing them before the end of the year.

The case was thrown back into the spotlight in the wake of the death of Ian Tomlinson during the G20 protests in the City of London. Mr Peach's partner, Celia Stubbs, 68, said the death of Mr Tomlinson was a catalyst for the review. In July, former Scotland Yard inspector Alan Murray said he believed Mr Peach was murdered or unlawfully killed, but not by police. Mr Murray, now a 59-year-old Sheffield University lecturer, led a unit of the Met's riot squad, called the Special Patrol Group. He denied killing Mr Peach and said that he did not believe anyone in his unit was responsible. The former officer said the inquiry was flawed and a verdict of death by misadventure at Mr Peach's inquest was "inappropriate". Misty in Roots » Real World Records - World music label MISTY IN ROOTS 'ROOTS CONTROLLER' REJOICE! The return of Misty In Roots to the recording studio with 'Roots Controller' marks twelve years since their last release - and the third phase in a career that's skanked over two decades.

And be glad, those who treasure memories of Misty's sonorous steppers from way back in the 1970s, when their name was inseparable from the struggle of the conscious Dread against racism and fascism. Welcome, too, to those new initiates who seek a true roots reggae injection. For finally gathered here together is the best of Misty old and new, a survey of a lifelong commitment to music with meaning. Fabled for their independence and integrity, the Misty collective can be compared to the mighty Musi-O-Tunya Falls they sing about on one of this CD's most poignant tracks; the sheer drop of pounding water that can be seen and heard from both Zambia and Zimbabwe, that the British colonisers called after their Queen Victoria. Known in the local language as The Smoke That Thunders, its flow never falters, even if it's obscured by mist. Through each of its incarnations, the message of Misty in Roots remains consistent, laying down the Rasta ideology and spirit on a bedrock of solid, melodic bass, gospel-tinged keyboards and triumphant horns.

Stern and unyielding in their beliefs, Misty hurl down their messages from the mountain tops, wailing for the oppressed, critiquing and warning Babylon's materialistic system, always anticipating the change that must come and asking "How long, Jah Jah, must we suffer?" Misty In Roots is well grounded in its community, Southall in West London. Local musicians like singers Poko (Walford Tyson) and his brother Duxie (Delvin Tyson), both born in St Kitts, and Grenadan guitarist Chop Chop (Dennis Augustin) jammed together as teens, learning calypso and mento from the older West Indian musicians in the area's pan-Caribbean mix - back then, Southall wasn't as specifically Asian as it is now. Poko's peers were the first kids from the old colonies to integrate the local schools, enduring all the schoolyard testing that implies. But as the complexion of the area began to change, the new arrivals from the former colonies created their own culture, in which school dances, youth clubs and Caribbean Carnival festivities brought musicians together. Starting with a soft-spoken keyboard player, a Guyanan named Vernon Hunt, Misty gradually formed.

All these young players of instruments began exploring radical ideas, both in their music and what it would deal with, and in their livity, the way they wanted to live their every day. "The music thing was so free in Southall," remembers Poko. "We young musicians got together as Misty, and then we wanted to help the younger ones." Misty were honed by a stint backing the pioneering Jamaican vocalist, Nicky Thomas. "Out of that experience," recalls Poko, "we knew how to deliver music. Year after year, we developed into what we are now." Misty took over a squat in Southall as a community Arts Centre, providing space for local youth to meet, record and rehearse. A free kitchen fed the homeless. The Peoples Unite roster expanded to include artists like The Enchanters, Kurt Leacock, Bongo Danny, Sister Jenny and African Woman, who later became known as Akabu. The first single released on their own Peoples Unite label was by a white neighbourhood punk group: 'In A Rut' by The Ruts. With their fiery singer, the late Malcolm Owen, they related to the Rasta worldview on tracks like 'Babylon's Burning'.

"We knew Malcolm from the streets in Southall. The Ruts came to us; our first single, 'Six One Penny', was put out later. Everything came together organically," recalls Poko. The release which secured Misty's respect as the conscience of roots reggae was their 'Live at the Counter Eurovision' album, released in 1979. Poko laughs, remembering. "If you imagine it, the first record we put out was something that don't sound like anything - it was raw, live." Yet that serious simplicity and the uncut passion of the MC, Smokes, aka dub poet William Simon, helped 'Live' stay at the top of the Alternative charts for weeks, ensuring Misty's position as the hard-core underground Rasta rulers. Influential DJ, John Peel, became and has remained an ardent champion, resulting in their 'Peel Sessions' album. When Zimbabwe achieved independence in 1981, Misty played there; the day that Bob Marley performed in Harare, they were marking the moment at London's Commonwealth Institute. Actual moves to Africa were under discussion by 1982, a year that proved tumultuous and momentous for Misty.

Hopes aside, Southall was and would always be Misty's home. Poko recalls: "Our co-operative was a little squat, but that's how most things start, everywhere you have people trying to do things. Usually you approach the council and it works out; but in our case " he falls silent, shaking his head. While the new flowering of a white, black and brown Britain was happening, the country was gearing up for the elections which would be won by Margaret Thatcher's Conservatives, working the Law and Order ticket. Multi-racial Southall became a front line on which the new multi-tribal Britain was being forged from the old. The passage was marked with blood - famously, that of the young New Zealander teacher, Blair Peach, whose death at the hands of the police during a protest against the National Front in April 1982, prompting elegies from Misty and Linton Kwesi Johnson and others. Twenty years on, Misty are still contemporary griots, telling stories to touch our social conscience. Their new song, 'Cover Up', deals with the case of a black teenager, student Stephen Lawrence, murdered by a racist gang of white youths in London in 1993.

The inadequate police investigation raised allegations of corruption and institutional racism in London's Metropolitan Police Force. Back in the 1980s the confrontations faced by Misty's musical activism made headlines. During a demonstration against the National Front, their house was stormed by the police on St George's Day, 21 April 1982. In the course of the fighting, police fractured the skull of Misty's manager, Clarence Baker, who nearly died. The aftermath was rough, too: the council literally demolished the house. "That's where the band changed again," remembers Poko. "It was particularly wicked what happened to Vernon - he got sent to jail for years. He was a fine keyboard player. Half the band got locked up and the other half was stuck in the legal system with show trials for two years. It does leave you mashed up, though you survive." The support of the music and artistic community was swift. A Benefit was put on at the Rainbow, with (most of) The Who, including Pete Townsend, Aswad, The Clash and The Ruts.

Having to re-invent themselves once again, Misty were repaid once more by the work they'd put into the community; a local musician named Tawanda took Vernon's place. The new line-up released the 'Wise and Foolish' album, which once again sat atop the national Alternative charts for weeks. Having endured a most challenging year, when Misty bought a farmhouse in Eastern Zimbabwe in 1982, they thought they were fulfilling the Rasta dream of repatriation. Africa, Misty's great love, has proved the band's greatest inspiration - and has taught them some of their harshest lessons. Their ideal of re-creating the Southall Peoples Unite community in the motherland proved too hasty. Farm workers had squatted the land when the old owner left the property and, tragically misunderstanding Misty's intention to encourage them to remain, one of their leaders killed himself. Turning the farm over to local people, Misty started a short-lived Peoples Unite Zimbabwe. Their experiences inspired the album 'Musi-O-Tunya'. Ultimately, the band decided to focus on extensive touring of the continent.

It was at the end of one such tour, of Ghana in 1992, that the band suffered another, more personal tragedy, when Poko's brother Duxie went swimming in the ocean and never returned. Forced to re-group once more, the band again found support from their community. The new material on the album 'Forward' pointed to a fresh start for the re-configured Misty. Over the next decade, Misty never stopped working, across Europe, in Africa, Japan and the Middle East. Content with spreading the message, recording seemed less vital. But this new union with Real World, their first recording venture outside of their own Peoples Unite label, is well-starred; Misty has a long association with Real World's WOMAD festival, having played their first show at London's ICA with Zairean superstar, Kanda Bongo Man, back in 1983. On a level, this recording is also a tribute to Duxie, who fulfilled his dream of ending his days in Africa, too young. Many of these tracks, like 'New Day', 'Dreadful Dread' and 'Musi-O-Tunya', were his compositions.

His dynamism and spirit live on in these songs and in Misty's future contributions to the struggle. Vivien Goldman Roots Controller » Real World Records - World music label Misty in Roots , 2002 REJOICE! The return of Misty In Roots to the recording studio with 'Roots Controller' marks twelve years since their last release - and the third phase in a career that's skanked over two decades. And be glad, those who treasure memories of Misty's sonorous steppers from way back in the 1970s, when their name was inseparable from the struggle of the conscious Dread against racism and fascism. Welcome, too, to those new initiates who seek a true roots reggae injection. For finally gathered here together is the best of Misty old and new, a survey of a lifelong commitment to music with meaning. Fabled for their independence and integrity, the Misty collective can be compared to the mighty Musi-O-Tunya Falls they sing about on one of this CD's most poignant tracks; the sheer drop of pounding water that can be seen and heard from both Zambia and Zimbabwe, that the British colonisers called after their Queen Victoria.

Known in the local language as The Smoke That Thunders, its flow never falters, even if it's obscured by mist. Through each of its incarnations, the message of Misty in Roots remains consistent, laying down the Rasta ideology and spirit on a bedrock of solid, melodic bass, gospel-tinged keyboards and triumphant horns. Stern and unyielding in their beliefs, Misty hurl down their messages from the mountain tops, wailing for the oppressed, critiquing and warning Babylon's materialistic system, always anticipating the change that must come and asking "How long, Jah Jah, must we suffer?" Misty In Roots is well grounded in its community, Southall in West London. Local musicians like singers Poko (Walford Tyson) and his brother Duxie (Delvin Tyson), both born in St Kitts, and Grenadan guitarist Chop Chop (Dennis Augustin) jammed together as teens, learning calypso and mento from the older West Indian musicians in the area's pan-Caribbean mix - back then, Southall wasn't as specifically Asian as it is now.

Poko's peers were the first kids from the old colonies to integrate the local schools, enduring all the schoolyard testing that implies. But as the complexion of the area began to change, the new arrivals from the former colonies created their own culture, in which school dances, youth clubs and Caribbean Carnival festivities brought musicians together. Starting with a soft-spoken keyboard player, a Guyanan named Vernon Hunt, Misty gradually formed. All these young players of instruments began exploring radical ideas, both in their music and what it would deal with, and in their livity, the way they wanted to live their every day. "The music thing was so free in Southall," remembers Poko. "We young musicians got together as Misty, and then we wanted to help the younger ones." Misty were honed by a stint backing the pioneering Jamaican vocalist, Nicky Thomas. "Out of that experience," recalls Poko, "we knew how to deliver music. Year after year, we developed into what we are now." Misty took over a squat in Southall as a community Arts Centre, providing space for local youth to meet, record and rehearse. A free kitchen fed the homeless.

The Peoples Unite roster expanded to include artists like The Enchanters, Kurt Leacock, Bongo Danny, Sister Jenny and African Woman, who later became known as Akabu. The first single released on their own Peoples Unite label was by a white neighbourhood punk group: 'In A Rut' by The Ruts. With their fiery singer, the late Malcolm Owen, they related to the Rasta worldview on tracks like 'Babylon's Burning'. "We knew Malcolm from the streets in Southall. The Ruts came to us; our first single, 'Six One Penny', was put out later. Everything came together organically," recalls Poko. The release which secured Misty's respect as the conscience of roots reggae was their 'Live at the Counter Eurovision' album, released in 1979. Poko laughs, remembering. "If you imagine it, the first record we put out was something that don't sound like anything - it was raw, live." Yet that serious simplicity and the uncut passion of the MC, Smokes, aka dub poet William Simon, helped 'Live' stay at the top of the Alternative charts for weeks, ensuring Misty's position as the hard-core underground Rasta rulers.

Influential DJ, John Peel, became and has remained an ardent champion, resulting in their 'Peel Sessions' album. When Zimbabwe achieved independence in 1981, Misty played there; the day that Bob Marley performed in Harare, they were marking the moment at London's Commonwealth Institute. Actual moves to Africa were under discussion by 1982, a year that proved tumultuous and momentous for Misty. Hopes aside, Southall was and would always be Misty's home. Poko recalls: "Our co-operative was a little squat, but that's how most things start, everywhere you have people trying to do things. Usually you approach the council and it works out; but in our case..." he falls silent, shaking his head. While the new flowering of a white, black and brown Britain was happening, the country was gearing up for the elections which would be won by Margaret Thatcher's Conservatives, working the Law and Order ticket. Multi-racial Southall became a front line on which the new multi-tribal Britain was being forged from the old.

The passage was marked with blood - famously, that of the young New Zealander teacher, Blair Peach, whose death at the hands of the police during a protest against the National Front in April 1982, prompting elegies from Misty and Linton Kwesi Johnson and others. Twenty years on, Misty are still contemporary griots, telling stories to touch our social conscience. Their new song, 'Cover Up', deals with the case of a black teenager, student Stephen Lawrence, murdered by a racist gang of white youths in London in 1993. The inadequate police investigation raised allegations of corruption and institutional racism in London's Metropolitan Police Force. Back in the 1980s the confrontations faced by Misty's musical activism made headlines. During a demonstration against the National Front, their house was stormed by the police on St George's Day, 21 April 1982. In the course of the fighting, police fractured the skull of Misty's manager, Clarence Baker, who nearly died. The aftermath was rough, too: the council literally demolished the house. "That's where the band changed again," remembers Poko. "It was particularly wicked what happened to Vernon - he got sent to jail for years.

He was a fine keyboard player. Half the band got locked up and the other half was stuck in the legal system with show trials for two years. It does leave you mashed up, though you survive." The support of the music and artistic community was swift. A Benefit was put on at the Rainbow, with (most of) The Who, including Pete Townsend, Aswad, The Clash and The Ruts. Having to re-invent themselves once again, Misty were repaid once more by the work they'd put into the community; a local musician named Tawanda took Vernon's place. The new line-up released the 'Wise and Foolish' album, which once again sat atop the national Alternative charts for weeks. Having endured a most challenging year, when Misty bought a farmhouse in Eastern Zimbabwe in 1982, they thought they were fulfilling the Rasta dream of repatriation. Africa, Misty's great love, has proved the band's greatest inspiration - and has taught them some of their harshest lessons. Their ideal of re-creating the Southall Peoples Unite community in the motherland proved too hasty.

Farm workers had squatted the land when the old owner left the property and, tragically misunderstanding Misty's intention to encourage them to remain, one of their leaders killed himself. Turning the farm over to local people, Misty started a short-lived Peoples Unite Zimbabwe. Their experiences inspired the album 'Musi-O-Tunya'. Ultimately, the band decided to focus on extensive touring of the continent. It was at the end of one such tour, of Ghana in 1992, that the band suffered another, more personal tragedy, when Poko's brother Duxie went swimming in the ocean and never returned. Forced to re-group once more, the band again found support from their community. The new material on the album 'Forward' pointed to a fresh start for the re-configured Misty. Over the next decade, Misty never stopped working, across Europe, in Africa, Japan and the Middle East. Content with spreading the message, recording seemed less vital.

But this new union with Real World, their first recording venture outside of their own Peoples Unite label, is well-starred; Misty has a long association with Real World's WOMAD festival, having played their first show at London's ICA with Zairean superstar, Kanda Bongo Man, back in 1983. On a level, this recording is also a tribute to Duxie, who fulfilled his dream of ending his days in Africa, too young. Many of these tracks, like 'New Day', 'Dreadful Dread' and 'Musi-O-Tunya', were his compositions. His dynamism and spirit live on in these songs and in Misty's future contributions to the struggle. Reviews 'Horns, guitars, and melodic vocals slide over the bounce of a Reggae musical backbone. Misty In Roots may just create a renaissance in interest in Reggae.' New York Spirit (USA) 'This is reggae in its purest form: horns that sometimes blare, sometimes whisper, melodies that bounce like beach balls and lyrics that are continually interesting, both politically and socially.

You don't see too many bands like this anymore - saying important things in accessible ways; you really don't.' Fort Worth Star-telegram (USA) '...this collection reflects the growing awareness of their African culture and spiritual awakening in melodic bass lines, gospel-inflected keyboards, triumphant horns and conscious lyrics.' Wave (UK) this is the glorious return of the ultimate sufferers, Misty In Roots... The fiery new songs show no sign of the band ageing gracefully... The return of Misty - truly a reason to rejoice! Straight No Chaser (UK) '...a triumphant return for Southall's finest... getting our feet moving along to the band's chunky rhythms, soulful keyboards, and perky brass section... Great stuff.' Froots (UK) 'Rooted brilliantly in pure roots reggae, the group has produced an album of rare beauty. Their vintage combination of rhythmic vocals, spiritual lyricism, and timeless riddims take the music back to mid '70s Jamaica. In a genre wavering and unstable as life itself, they've a retro masterpiece.' Cdnow ...pure roots style and undiminished fire...

'Their first release in a dozen years shows them strong indeed with pure roots style and undiminished fire, particularly on the concluding live selections where they just burn it up.' The Beat (USA) '...the new material here finds Misty in good form.' The Wire (UK) 'That songs dealing with racial injustice, murder and the ills of capitalism come across as somehow nostalgic and reassuring just goes to show how rare the likes of Misty are these days, and maybe how much we need them back.' Bbci Music Website (UK) 'A welcome return for the London roots reggae collective, who obviously haven't lost a step over the last 20 years. Still political and unabashedly rootsy... they write some wonderful melodies, with very conscious lyrics, ensuring an ongoing relevance in the new Millennium. Faultless musicianship, marvellously crafted, it would be wonderful to think this release could make them into a global reggae name.

On the basis of this (and their history) they deserve it.' Www.globalvillageidiot.net (UK) 'Current album Roots Controller may be their first for 12 years but, on the evidence of their astonishing performance [at WOMAD Festival 2002, Reading], it's clear MiR have lost none of their knack for powerful, righteous, uplifting reggae with an edge.' Reading Chronicle (UK) ...sweet harmonies and beat-perfect rhythms... 'Perfectly timed to coincide with Jamaica's independence celebrations, this is the Southall collective's first album of new material in a dozen years. What has happened since they went away? Briefly, the lead vocalist Duxie drowned in Ghana and Jamaica turned its back on roots reggae. The sweet harmonies and beat-perfect rhythms are from the classic steppers era, while the second half of the album is a remastered "best of", featuring seven songs from 1979-85.' The Times (UK) 'Over two decades ago this Caribbean band from Southall came to epitomise an era when punk formed an alliance with reggae, and Rock Against Racism brought a hard political edge to popular music.

In the 1980s their Peoples United label moved to Zimbabwe, and although their recording output died up, they have continued to tour. This is their first album in 12 years, and though the line-up has changed a little since their London beginnings, the songs and lyrics are as powerful as ever. From Blair Peach to Stephen Lawrence, Misty have had their fingers on the pulse, with music to draw the attention.' Wanderlust (UK) This has to be the comeback album of the year. It's been 12 years since this seminal UK roots reggae act released a studio album. Roots Controller restores Misty In Roots to the primacy the act enjoyed in the 1980s. The band was not inactive during the previous decade, gigging in Africa and at Peter Gabriel's WOMAD festival, so the superb musicianship heard on Roots Controller should come as no surprise. Misty In Roots was always a group with an activist agenda, and that mentality informs the tune "Cover Up", which deals with the 1993 murder of Stephen Lawrence in London.

The group's social conscience is also on point with the live track "Ghetto of the City" and "Dance Hall Babylon." It's such a fine experience to hear this veteran reggae ensemble working its in-the-pocket dancehall sound again.' Billboard (USA) 'This legendary band return to the studio after a break of 12 years. Misty were probably the best British reggae band of the late seventies and early Eighties and were stalwarts of Rock Against Racism...this album mixes wonderful new material with classics such as Ghetto Of The City and Man Kind.' Music Week (2002) (UK) Dig deep and stay true... ...for the committed and impassioned shall survive and endure. Behold, Southall's roots reggae stalwarts return with their first new album in some 12 years. Well, new-ish. Six new tracks sit alongside a selection of older material from 1979-86 (including a couple from mighty debut 'Live At The Counter Eurovision'). All sound fresh and vital and charged and uplifting. 'Rejoice!' begins Vivien Goldman's sleeve notes. Indeed.

Time Out (UK) Track list 1979 - key events - The 1970s | NZHistory, New Zealand history online Page 12 – 1979 - key events King of the track Ivan Mauger won a record sixth world speedway title in Katowice, Poland. The Christchurch-born Mauger was the dominant force in world speedway and had won three titles in a row between 1968 and 1970. He also won three world long-track titles between 1971 and 1976. Such was his status in the sport that readers of a leading speedway publication named him ‘Millennium Man of Speedway’ in 1999. Spirit of Woodstock In late January 1979, towards the end of what has been described as a ‘dull, fragmented decade musically and culturally’, more than 60,000 young New Zealanders came together for the highly successful three-day Nambassa festival . Previous attempts to emulate the Woodstock experience had failed to attract the crowds needed to turn a profit.

This festival held on Phil and Pat Hulse’s 160-ha farm in Golden Valley, just north of Waihī, set the benchmark for all future New Zealand rock festivals. Second oil shock After the Iranian revolution world oil prices soared from around US$13 a barrel to US$32. The government sought to reduce oil consumption in a number of ways, ranging from the ambitious and expensive ‘Think Big’ projects to the introduction of carless days . The term ‘Think Big’ was first used by cabinet minister Allan Highet in a speech to a National Party conference in 1977. The projects included a plant at Waitara to produce methanol for export. The most ambitious was the Motunui synfuel plant. A world first, this converted gas to methanol (methyl alcohol) and then to synthetic petrol. While technically successful it proved to be uneconomic – like many of the other projects – when world oil prices fell in the 1980s. The 1979 National Development Act gave the government the power to accelerate projects believed to be in the national interest.

However, plans to construct an aluminium smelter at Aramoana on Otago Harbour were ultimately shelved because of resistance on environmental grounds. Erebus disaster All 257 passengers and crew on Flight TE901 were killed when an Air New Zealand sightseeing flight over Antarctica crashed into the lower slopes of Mt Erebus near Scott Base. This remains the worst civil disaster in New Zealand’s history. Professionals and volunteers from Antarctica and New Zealand took part in difficult and often harrowing investigative, recovery and identification operations. Debate raged as to who or what was at fault for the accident. The chief inspector of air accidents attributed the disaster to pilot error. Justice Peter Mahon’s Royal Commission of Inquiry placed the blame on Air New Zealand and its systems. Other 1979 events New Zealander Blair Peach was killed during a clash between police and protesters at an anti-fascism rally in Southall, London. Arthur Allan Thomas, twice convicted of the Crewe murders of 1970, was granted a full pardon and compensation of nearly $1 million after a Queen’s Counsel identified ‘serious flaws’ in the Crown’s case against him.

The mutilated body of Marty Johnstone , the New Zealander regarded as head of the ‘Mr Asia’ drug syndicate, was found in a flooded disused quarry in Lancashire. His killing had been ordered by fellow Kiwi Terry Clark. Malcolm Douglas became the first MP since 1873 to be removed from Parliament after being sworn in and taking his seat when Winston Peters’ electoral petition was upheld. Politicians and staff finally moved into the Beehive, two years after the Queen had officially opened the new Executive Wing. Street Talk picked up Album of the Year at the Music Awards, with Th’ Dudes winning the Top Group award. Rob Guest and Sharon O’Neill won the solo awards. 30 Yrs Since Teacher Blair Peach Killed By Police At Anti Fascist Demonstration Photos and Images | Getty Images 30 Yrs Since Teacher Blair Peach Killed By Police At Anti Fascist Demonstration June 25, 2009 License Blair Peach's partner Celia Stubbs stands with his brother Philip Peach at City...Blair Peach's partner Celia Stubbs stands with his brother Philip Peach at City Hall on June 25, 2009 in London.

New Zealand born teacher, Blair Peach was knocked unconscious and later died in April 1979 during an Anti-Nazi League protest. Mr Peach's family and supporters believe that he died after being hit by riot police. LessMore BBC - London - TV - Southall Rising You are in: London > TV > Television > TV Features > Southall Rising Protesters and police clash in Southall Southall Rising Thirty years ago a new Government was on the brink of victory and society was in turmoil. On April 23rd 1979 the cUK had a foretaste of that turmoil when Asian “immigrants” protested against an extreme right wing rally in the heart of Southall... Kurt Barling has been talking to people who were present at a Seventies milestone that helped change the face of British race relations. In April 1979 Britain was in the middle of a deeply divisive election campaign. The Labour government was grievously weakened by a winter of discontent and Margaret Thatcher’s Conservatives were planning wholesale changes to revitalise Britain’s economy which was in a parlous state.

Video: Residents recall Southall riots > Politics was deeply fractured and the extreme right party, the National Front, was keen to use this climate to press its case to deport Black and Asian people and in its words, raze Southall to the ground and preserve it as a typical English hamlet. Minority communities became accustomed to being cast as scapegoats for what had gone wrong. A planned meeting at Southall Town Hall was allowed to go ahead fixed for St George’s Day (April 23rd). The local Conservative leadership made a public judgment they were in no position to stop a legitimate political gathering as provided for in the Representation of The People’s Act. No matter that there was minimal support for the National Front in the locality. "The police is the service of the people and they are not there to protect the policies of the powerful, when they do that we are in trouble." Yasmin Alibhai-Brown, Southall protester and author The decision caused outrage in a part of London which had seen a large Asian community prosper. Ravi Jain is still a community organiser in Southall. He says that despite the law, the community believed the local council leadership was wrong.

There was no significant constituency in Southall and rally by the National Front rally was designed simply to provoke a reaction. It couldn’t fail to get one. Ugandan Asians who had been expelled by the African dictator Idi Amin had recent experience of being kicked out of another country and feared for their future. The writer and journalist Yasmin Alibhai-Brown lived in Ealing at the time. She’d been expelled from Uganda. She recalls the indignation felt that the National Front could be allowed to have a platform in a community which had suffered a rise in racial attacks in the preceding months. Like many other migrants Alibhai-Brown felt that she had no choice but to join the demonstration to try to disrupt the meeting at Southall Town Hall. It was probably the first occasion when the stereotype of the Asian migrant, as meek, mild and diffident was revealed as a myth built on prejudice. The police however deployed heavy numbers on that day to keep the two sides apart. In fact, no more than a couple of dozen National Front supporters showed up, versus several thousand protesters from the Anti-Nazi League and other groups supporting community activists.

Ravi Jain The police created a sterile zone around Southall Town Hall and drew up police lines to stop any of the protesters reaching there. As tempers frayed towards the end of the day, Alibhai-Brown recalls how the mood suddenly changed from a protest where the police held the line to one where they actively sought to disburse the protesters. The examples of violent police intervention have been well documented and Southall brought into question the assumption that the police were always the defenders of the citizen. Alibhai-Brown recounts being chased down a side street by police officers wielding truncheons with several fellow protestors. They sought refuge in the home of a Sikh family. “The young children were asked by the Sikh gentleman to wave at the policemen from the front window. And we hid at the back of the house until after darkness had fallen.” The police on this occasion, she says, showed real menace and were, she believes, intent on teaching people on the march a lesson. The protest was rooted in real concerns about the everyday treatment of Asian immigrants. In a community like Southall, reports of brothers being beaten up at school or women being spat at on the way to work circulated very quickly.

New arrivals like the Ugandan Asians had real experience of the consequences of talk about deportation or repatriation. Fear was real. Ravi Jain founded the National Association of Asian Youth and was based in the heart of Southall in 1979. The premises of the NAAY acted as a makeshift shelter for young people fleeing the attentions of the police Special Patrol Groups (SPG) which had gained a reputation for tough intervention and violence. Jain remembers the trigger for a breakdown in the orderly conduct on the 23rd April was a flare thrown into the police lines. This brought an instant reaction from the police to press forward and to allow police on horseback to ride into the protestors. It was at this point that panic set in. “People were running every which way because they didn’t expect this; women, children, even pregnant mothers. People ran into the park and even ended up climbing trees.” In the chaos that ensued scores of people were injured and several hundred arrested. But the event that elevated a local disturbance into a full-scale national story was the death of New Zealander Blair Peach. Police arrest a protester in Southall Peach was an active member of the Anti-Nazi League and a special needs teacher.

Eye-witnesses described how he took several blows to his head from police truncheons in a side street as he was trying to get away from the fast disintegrating protest. Peach died from his head injuries. The Special Patrol Group of the Met Police was implicated although no one has ever been charged with causing his death. Silvander Dillon had just completed his postgraduate studies in 1979 and got involved organising young people to get involved in the march on the Town Hall. He believes that it was the death of Peach that helped show ordinary Britons that the march was not just about the anger of Asian boys and new migrants but a demonstration to the broader community that Britain was often a place full of discrimination and prejudice. Peach’s body was brought the half a mile from where he fell to the Dominion Centre. He was effectively guarded by local people until the disturbances subsided. The public outcry over his death and the responsibility of the police for it (despite no individual officers ever being found culpable) sparked a period of anger which would eventually lead to the Brixton disturbances of 1981 and a full inquiry under Lord Scarman into the sources of minority frustration and anger.

It also started a broader political debate about how immigrants to Britain were to become valued members of the community. Equality rather than simple tolerance would become the concept around which more harmonious race relations would be built. It started a period of national reflection which would lead to a new Race Relations Act and new duties for public authorities like the police. Blair Peach died during the protest Alibhai-Brown also sees parallels in today’s public debate about the manner in which the G20 protests in the City of London were policed. “The police is the service of the people and they are not there to protect the policies of the powerful, when they do that we are in trouble. I believe that is the situation we are in today.” The Southall disturbances of 1979 deeply affected those who became caught up in the turmoil that day. Many like the three people quoted in this article remain living in Ealing. Other rights groups set up in the wake of the events are still active, like the Southall Monitoring Group and the deaths in custody charity, Inquest. The lasting legacy of the demonstration was a realisation by the mainstream of British society that Britain’s migrant communities were here to stay.

This meant the state would have to find new ways to get people from different ethnic backgrounds to live and work together. London can claim some credit for being a world leader in making this happen, but it was done at a price. Blair Peach is remembered above all for this. Campaigner Blair Peach killed by police at Southall riots, report reveals | Daily Mail Online comments Riot squad officers conspired to cover up the circumstances of Blair Peach's death at an antiracism rally 31 years ago, a Scotland Yard report revealed yesterday. The dossier - which has remained unpublished since 1979 - said members of the Metropolitan Police's Special Patrol Group lied about what happened after the teacher was killed by a blow from an officer. As a result investigators could not prove who was responsible. Blair Peach died after being hit at a demonstration against the National Front in Southall, West London, in 1979 It also emerged that Scotland Yard paid Mr Peach's family £75,000 in 'hush money' in the early 1980s to stop a civil action which would have resulted in embarrassing details of the case being aired at the High Court.

Celia Stubbs outside New Scotland Yard today Mr Peach, 33, died after he was hit over the head by an officer at an anti National Front demonstration in Southall, West London, in April 1979. A police radio, truncheon or cosh is thought to have been the weapon. Although it has always been suspected that police were to blame, no officer has ever been charged. Yesterday, after a marathon campaign by Mr Peach's family, Scotland Yard released an internal review conducted five months after his death. Written by Commander John Cass, it said officers had made 'false statements' and called for three members of the SPG to be prosecuted for obstructing the investigation and attempting to pervert the course of justice. None was ever prosecuted and names of officers and witnesses have been removed from the report for legal reasons. Yesterday current Met chief Sir Paul Stephenson said it was a matter of 'deep regret' that police were still unable to provide 'a definitive answer regarding the terrible circumstances' which resulted in Mr Peach's death. He said the report made 'uncomfortable reading'.

Mr Peach was killed during a demonstration against the National Front in Southall, West London, in 1979 He is thought to have been struck by a rubberised police radio or a lead-filled cosh BLAIR PEACH TIMELINE April 1979 - Blair Peach dies following the Southall riots July 1979 - Peach is buried at a funeral attended by thousands 1979/1980 - An investigation into Peach's death was led by Commander John Cass, but coroner Dr John Burton refused to let any of the report be used as evidence in the inquest May 1980 - An inquest returns a verdict of death by misadventure May 1980 - Celia Stubbs and Peach's friends and family begin campaigning for a full public inquiry into his death April 1999 - Paul Boateng, then the Home Office minister, said too much time had elapsed to hold a worthwhile inquiry into what he called a 'tragedy' 1999 - Ian Quinn completes another reports on Peach's death, which is also expected to be made public this week January 2009 - Metropolitan Police Commissioner Sir Paul Stephenson says he is willing to publish

 the Cass Report after solicitors checked it April 2009 - The death of Ian Tomlinson at the G20 protests acts as a catalyst to push the publication of the report forward July 2009 - Former inspector Alan Murray says Peach was 'either murdered or unlawfully killed' - but not by police December 2009 - The Met police hand the Cass Report to the CPS to review April 2010 - The Cass report reveals Peach was killed after allegedly being hit by a police officer, thought to have used a rubberised radio or lead-filled cosh Mr Peach's partner Celia Stubbs said the findings 'vindicated' her belief he was killed by police.

She also named six officers who were in an SPG unit thought to have included the policeman who struck the fatal blow. Last night the retired Met officer who led the unit, former Inspector Alan Murray, denied he or any of his officers had killed Mr Peach and described claims of a cover-up as a 'gross distortion'. Other key findings of the report were: A raid on a suspect policeman's locker at SPG offices uncovered a rhino whip and a cosh 14 witnesses said they saw Mr Peach being hit by a police officer, and 'there is no evidence' to show he received his head injury in any other way Although it could be 'reasonably concluded' Mr Peach was killed by a policeman, there was insufficient evidence to charge any officer. Suspicions centred on the first SPG carrier to arrive on Beechcroft Avenue, the street where Mr Peach was found injured. Commander Cass said there was an 'indication' one officer in particular was responsible. Before the report was published, the Crown Prosecution Service reviewed the evidence in the case and ruled nobody involved should be charged.

In his report, Commander Cass singled out the actions of three officers, named as E, H and F who made 'false statements' of the 'same content' about the death of Mr Peach. 'A strong inference that can be drawn from this is that they have conspired to obstruct police,' he wrote. Miss Stubbs added: 'This report totally vindicates what we have always believed: that Blair was killed by one of six officers from Unit 1 of the Special Patrol Group.' Last night Mr Murray, now a lecturer at Sheffield University, denied he was the killer. He said: 'I know I didn't. I am as sure as I can be my group were not responsible.' An inquest jury returned a verdict of death by misadventure in 1980. The CPS was pushed to review the case of Mr Peach's death following a campaign by his family Under fire, they waded in, wielding truncheons It was St George's Day and everyone heading for Southall - the police, young Asians and certainly the National Front - knew there was likely to be violence. The National Front had carefully picked April 23, 1979, for their West London meeting in the build-up to their General Election campaign.

It meant the Union Jack would fly from their base within the Town Hall all day. The effect, they hoped, would make the building look like an outpost of the Empire in a street of shops with names like the Bangalore Emporium and Bhanveeta Novelties. Celia Stubbs with daughter Rebecca at Blair's funeral The Asian enclave of Southall had become a hotbed of tensions between immigrant residents, their supporters on the political Left and anti-immigration groups championed by the neo-fascist National Front. Some 2,750 officers - almost one for each demonstrator --were on duty to police the protest. The simple tactic was to keep the two sides apart. Throughout an uncomfortable afternoon of rain there were scuffles and stone throwing. Bricks, bottles and curry powder were hurled as officers were accused of protecting the National Front and at one stage an incendiary device was thown at a police coach.

Crowds of young Asians and white people yelled 'Get the pigs', while one man used a megaphone to urge the crowd to violence: 'The police are the National Front in uniform.' When in the early evening rain supporters of the Anti-Nazi League moved towards the Town Hall, police began using truncheons to disperse crowds. Around 50 demonstrators were trapped in a churchyard with many suffering injuries as police sought to 'move' them on. Virtually all of what now clearly was becoming a riot with running battles between police and protestors had been missed by New Zealander Blair Peach. The special needs teacher at a school in East London was well known as a campaigner and activist against far-Right and neo-Nazi groups. An estimated 10,000 people turned out for the funeral when Mr Peach was buried in July 1979 In Southall, Mr Peach and friends had been on the edge of the demonstrations but suddenly its focus was to switch to the streets where they were as groups of stone throwing protestors converged on them. On a nearby rooftop a police spotter had seen the growing group and two SPG vans were sent to break them up.

One officer jumping from a van dropped to the ground, his jaw broken and spouting blood. The police call went out: 'Urgent assistance required - we are under attack!' As blue lights flashed and sirens wailed, Mr Peach and a friend fled into a street of terraced houses called Beechcroft Avenue. Police vans flew into the road, jumping the pavement. One of these was a van of six officers from Number 1 Unit. Their senior officer, Inspector Alan Murray, had earlier been injured after being kicked to the ground. After a day facing bricks and bottles raining down on their van, Inspector Murphy admitted later: 'We were wet, fed up and exhausted.' Truncheons drawn, police sped from the vehicle. Mr Peach tried to move away but was struck on the head - the first officer out is suspected of striking the blow. A fellow protestor, Martin Gerrald, recalled: 'The police were wielding truncheons and riot shields. It was a case of the boot just going in --there was no attempt to arrest anybody.' Mr Peach was taken in by an Asian family while an ambulance was called. He began to have fits and died early the next day in Ealing Hospital.

The post mortem examination showed he had suffered a broken skull. Around 100 police officers, along with 65 protestors and members of the public were injured and 345 arrested. When police subsequently raided the offices of the SPG, they unearthed a horde of unauthorised weapons, including illegal truncheons and knives. An officer was found trying to dispose of a metal cosh, another was found to be a Nazi supporter.

Question: Who was the New Zealander killed during a protest against the National front in London in 1979?
Answer: Blair Peach